Rail for overhead monorail carrier systems



. May 26, 1942.

w. e. WEHR 2,284,240

' RIER SYSTEMS AIL FOR OVERHEAD MONORAIL CAR Filed April 26, 1940 vINVENTOR; Y VV/Lz/AM G. VVEHR v. AT E Patented May 26, 1942 para ar o FlCE RAIL FOR OVERHEAD MONORAIL CARRIER SYS TEM

William G. Wehr, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Cleveland Crane&- Engineering Company, Wicklifie, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication April 26, 1940, Serial No. 331,766

5 Claims. (01. 104-409) riers in the well known manner; This rail is inthe invention aims to successfully solve the users 5 requirements forconstantlyincreasing tonnage and speed conditions of overhead monorailsystems which latter result in greater impact and wear. of the wheels onthe rail to the end that there is greater likelihood of breakage of therail and injury to persons underneath. In one of its aspects, theinvention may be regarded as an improvement on the rails forming thesubject matter of the Bennington Patents Nos. 1,550,142 and 1,577,162and the Wehr Patent No. 1,577,394.

The rails shown in'these patents have proven quite satisfactory but theyhave the disadvantage that they are formed of high carbon steel which isnot as ductile as structural or low. carbon steel and does not give thedesired assurance against breakage under the exacting conditions imposedby the demands of the users for increased load' and speed of thecarriers.

A more specific object is toprovidea rail which is formed of lowcarbonsteel or the" like and which is provided on its lower flanges with wearand impact resisting treadsformed of a different material and so fixedthereto as to give the rail long life.

The invention may be further briefly suni- T marized as consistingincertain details of construction and combinations and arrangements ofparts as well as steps of the methodwhich will be described in thespecification and set forth in the appended claims.

Inthe accompanying sheet of drawings, Fig. 1 is-a perspective viewshowings. portion of a rail embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a portion of therail illustrating how the tread is applied to the lower flange fromfused metal or alloy deposited on the flange, and indicating the natureof the union which is obtained when the material forming the tread isapplied adapted to support the track wheels of the cari this instance inthe form of an I-beam, but

whether it is in the form of an I-beam or a T- section (as when formedinto a composite rail according to the teachings of the 'Wehr Patent No.1,577,394), or in fact any other suitable section, is immaterial to thepresent invention, The rail here shown is provided with a web I I, upperflanges l2, and lower flanges It for the track wheels. The rail hereshown is rolled in one piece with wide upper flanges to give lateralstiffe ness and greater resistance to bending under the weight of thecarriers, the upper and lower flanges being, tapered so that the sectioncan be rolledon a regular beammill.

Heretofore, to obtain a satisfactory wearing T tread for the wheels, ithas been customary-to make the rails of fairly high carbon steel, aswith the constructions. disclosed in the Bennington and Wehr patentsreferred to above. However, high carbon steel has a tendency to breakinvention that the rail proper is made of low carbon steel or somesimilar ductile material which may bend butwhich will not break underoverload, while the lower flanges of the rail are' provided with, hard,tough, flat wear-resisting v treads for thewheels of the monorailcarrierby be applied and formed in one or more contigu progressivelydepositingalong the top surfaces of the lower flanges suitable treadmaterial in a fused state preferablyfrom a weld Wire and-by a weldingoperation, (as by electric welding, wherein the wire is one oftheelectrodes) thus not only fusing the wire but also the adjacent 7portion of the flange so as'to obtain an intimate and fused unionbetween the deposited material and the steel' flange of such a"character that loosening of the tread in practice cannot occur,

In the drawing the treads provided on the lower flanges as justdescribed are designated by thereference character I4, each tread beingcarried over theround corner of the flange'and downwardly slightly so asto protect the edge ofthe flange from wear'by the flanges'of the wheels.After the tread is applied, it is ground so as to provide a flat topsurface and a flat outer edge in line with the edge of the flange.

Depending upon the width of the tread,=it may ous beads which, after thegrinding operation, form in effect one continuous tread surface. Of

chine. When the tread is applied or formed in this manner, as will beseen by reference to Fig. 4

2, there is of course a molecular intermingling of the fused wire andthe fused surface of the flange forming a union which cannotbe loosenedby use under any operating conditions. While,

as stated above, the thickness and width of the tion havingsubstantially the elongation characteristic of-mild steel havingapproximately .15% to .25% carbon; and carrier wheel engaging treadportions on the upper surfaces of said flanges and; extending the fulllength thereof, said tread portions being formed of hard wear resistingtread may be varied as desired oras conditions require, I have obtainedvery good results 'by v applying a tread having an averagethickness of 16' and a width of 1%" When applied to a 10'," beam the base of which(measured across the lower flange) is 3 These proportions of the treadand base of the beam are mentioned simply asone possibility and in noway in a limiting sense. I V

In forming the tread in the manner just'stated, it is possible'to obtainatread having any desired strength, hardness, toughness, and ductility(a reasonable amount of the latter is desired), A Brinell hardness offrom 300 to 500 is generally satisfactory. The above mentionedcharacteristics may be varied by'th'e ingredients of the weld wire. 1Generally a mild steel wire is employed with a coating containing theelements desiredto obtain an alloy whichhas the desired 7characteristics. I have obtained very good resultsusing afstructuralsteel rail having from amounts of part or all-of the following: carbon,

material having a Brinell hardness of approximately 3007to 500 depositedthereon in a fused state and welded or fused thereto.

2. A rail for an overhead underslung carrier system comprising: anelongated body portion including flanges extending along the entirelength of the lower part thereof, said body portion having substantiallythe elongation characteristics of mild steel having approximately .15%to .25% carbon; and carrier wheel engaging tread portions On'the uppersurfaces of said flanges and extending the full length thereof, saidtread portions projecting downwardly over at least a partof the freeedges of said flanges and being, formed of hard wear resisting materialhaving a Brinell hardness of approximately 300 to 500 depositedthereonin a fused state and Welded orfused thereto.

3; A rail for an overhead underslung carrier system comprising: anelongated body portion including flanges extending along the entirelength of the lower part thereof, said body portion having substantiallythe elongation characteristics of mild steel having approximately .15%to .25 carbon; and carrier wheel engaging tread portions on the uppersurfaces of said flanges manganese; silicon, chromium, nickel, boron.

However, the particular alloy ingredients in the coatingof the wire andthe proportions thereof may be varied as found'desirable. By the phrasefmild steel as used throughout the appended claims, it is intended tocover low carbonsteel,

suchas defined above or some similarly strong and ductile material.

flange -to which it is secured and stands above thetop surface of theadjoining portion of the flange, the present construction has-all theadu vantages of v the construction described and claimed in theBennington PatentNo. 1,550,142

antagesover the Benas "well as. numerous a'dv nington construction;

While Ihave shown the preferred-construction and a method which operatessatisfactorily,

I do not desire to be confined to the same or to any particularproportions or ingredients so'far asm-aterials used in forming the treadare concernedbut aim in my claims to cover all modifications which donot involve a departure from a the spirit and the scope of my invention;7

I Having thus described my invention. I claim;

Since the tread M is of lesswidth-than the and extending the full lengththereof; said flanges having rounded upper corners along the free edgesthereof and said tread portions extending downwardly over said roundedcorners and being formed of hard wear resisting material having aBrinell hardness of approximately 300 to 500' deposited thereon in afused state and welded or fused thereto.

4. A'rail for an overhead underslung carrier system comprising: anelongated body portion including flanges extending along the entirelength of the lowerpart thereof; said body portion havingsubstantially'the elongation characteristics of mild steel havingapproximately .15%

to .25% carbon; and carrier wheel engaging tread portions on the uppersurfaces of said' flanges and extending the full length thereof, theupper system comprising: a rolled elongated body'portion I-beam incross-section the upper flanges of which are wider than the lowerflanges, said body portion having substantially the elongationcharacteristics of mild steel having approximately .15% to .25 carbon;and carrier wheel engaging treadportions on the upper surfaces of thelower flanges of said body. portion and extending the 'full lengththereof, said tread portions being formed of hard wear resistingmaterial having a Brinell hardness of approximately 300 to 500 depositedthereon in a fused state and welded or fused thereto. v p

WILLIAM G. WEHR.

